[Alton Lady]

Originally Posted by 8gv

About the boat brand and size...

I have two smaller (18' and 20') Sea Rays and will attest to their quality.

Back in '98 I bought a 28' Bayliner for my family of five. The kids were 8, 5 and 1.

My search for a cruiser led me to the Bayliner because it had more interior space for its length. At that time, and I suspect now, the other brands had styling that was curvatious and sexy. The Bayliner was more boxy inside. The others had an 8'6" beam, suitable for trailering sans permit. The Bayliner had a 9'7" beam thus making trailering an event.

I doubt you'll trailer at all. That requires a trailer, a place to store the trailer and a vehicle powerful enough to tow a 24' or larger boat.

Here's the big and in my opinion, important difference for a family of four:

Fancy, expensive boat has tighter aft cabin, a narrow forward v-berth and minimal galley table that converts to a minimal berth THAT YOU NEED because the other sleeping areas are small.

Non fancy, cheaper (Bayliner) boat has a queen aft berth, generous v-berth and a full size table that sleeps two kids or one, shorter adult.

In the non fancy boat, dad can snooze in the aft cabin while mom sits at the table drinking her coffee while the kids snooze up front. Later, when everybody rises, all four can eat breakfast at the table. At night, the kids can watch TV from the table and then crawl off to sleep in the v-berth while mom and dad watch TV at the table. Later, mom and dad crawl off to the aft QUEEN SIZED berth, which is far away from the kids, for adult playtime.

Get 28' or more.
Forget about trailering.
Be sure the boat has three good sized sleeping areas.
Curves in the cabin are pretty but waste space!

I'm glad I read through the responses, or I would have posted almost exactly what you did!